It looks like the center of the hurricane will pass almost right over Manhattan by around 8 a.m. or so this morning. We may get some even stronger winds as it does since we will be on the eastern side of the eye.

Latest weather reports says Irene remains on track to come ashore somewhere in the NYC/Long Island area tomorrow morning. From the National Weather Service:

Tonight...Tropical storm conditions expected with hurricane conditions possible. Rain with isolated thunderstorms. Rain may be heavy at times. Lows in the lower 70s. East winds 30 to 40 mph with gusts up to 55 mph...increasing to 45 to 55 mph with gusts up to 65 mph after midnight. Chance of rain near 100 percent.

Sunday...Hurricane conditions expected. Rain with isolated thunderstorms in the morning...then rain in the afternoon. Rain may be heavy at times in the morning. Humid with highs in the upper 70s. Northeast winds 55 to 75 mph...becoming northwest 50 to 70 mph in the afternoon. Gusts up to 85 mph. Chance of rain near 100 percent.

Sunday Night...Tropical storm conditions possible with hurricane conditions also possible. Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers in the evening...then mostly clear after midnight. Less humid with lows in the lower 60s. Northwest winds 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 45 mph...diminishing to 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph after midnight. Chance of rain 50 percent.

What's amazing looking at the radars now is that the center of the hurricane isn't even expected to reach Atlantic City until 6 a.m.! They have been having torrential rains down there for hours already.

It looks like we are just about to get into the first sustained rain from one of the larger outer bands of the hurricane... So far we've just had a few fast-moving squalls. The computer models are now showing the eye of Irene moving somewhere over our area Sunday morning, either just to the west of the City or somewhere in the vicinity of the Queens/Nassau County border. So we are essentially right now kind of in the bullseye here in Forest Hills. Thankfully, the hurricane has lost some of its power so instead of 100 mph winds we will get gusts up to 80 and sustained winds of 50 to 65 or so. Which is pretty bad but could be much worse!

From AccuWesther Meteorologist Henry Margusity:

"We pulled the track west so Irene moves over Atlantic City and by Sunday 8am, the left eye wall be sitting right over New York City."

Friday, August 26, 2011

From NY Times:New York City to Shut Down Mass Transit on Saturday at NoonWith Hurricane Irene pushing relentlessly toward the East Coast, officials made plans to shut down New York City’s sprawling subway and bus system beginning at noon on Saturday, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said.

The commuter rail lines that serve Long Island, Westchester County and Connecticut will also be shut down.

Officials decided to go ahead with the transit shutdown, which they had first mentioned on Thursday as a possibility at a City Hall briefing on Thursday, as the city was evacuating hospitals and nursing homes in low-lying areas. State officials continued arrangements for coordinating emergency services and restoring electricity if the storm does the kind of damage many fear.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

From one of the meteorologists I closely follow, Accuweather's Henry Margusity. This was posted about an hour ago:

Track is now worse case for Mid-Atlantic. Damaging winds and flooding from eastern NC to New England including DC to NYC corridor. Very bad.

It looks like this will probably be the first of many posts I will be doing about this Hurricane, which could go down as a historical storm for New York City if the forecasts materialize.

The New York City/Long Island area has been way overdue for a major hurricane. They are saying this one may be on the magnitude of the famous 1938 "Long Island Express," which caused a lot of devastation on Long Island. Since that year the population on Long Island has expanded to the millions.

Forest Hills is on high ground and pretty far inland, so we should be able to ride out the hurricane pretty well. I would say if it does go to our West, more over New Jersey or Manhattan, expect mostly damaging winds here and flooding rains. But we would not be impacted by the devastating storm surge like other areas of the City and much of the south and north shores of Long Island.

I am exceedingly sad about the news thats Steve Jobs has resigned as CEO of Apple. It's almost like saying goodbye to a parent or good friend. I spent a big part of my childhood as a mild computer geek, breathlessly following the next personal computer innovations.

I won't go into all the details, but there is a very long, wonderful history about Steve Jobs versus Bill Gates and how their rivalry helped shape personal computing today. One of my earliest computers was an Apple, a Mac Plus. And I remember the day when Windows (I think it was 3.0) came out for the PC. I was in the CompUSA at Roosevelt Field on Long Island and saw all the boxes of Windows piled up to the ceiling. And I remember thinking to myself, "What is all the fuss about? Windows just copies what my Mac has been able to do for years!"

It left me realizing that in this world things can end up quite backwards sometimes. The good guy doesn't always win. The real innovator - Steve Jobs - saw his share of the computing market vastly overtaken by laughably inferior Windows-based computers.

But what was really amazing is that the story didn't end there. Jobs returned to Apple and made it the amazing success that it is today.

But I guess what I most think of when I think of Jobs is optimism. So many people in this world seem to go through their lives so negative about just about everything. All they do is complain, constantly complain, about what is wrong with this or that. Jobs is one of those rare individuals -- thank you God for them!! -- who never complained. He envisioned. He created. He did. And he gave all of our lives a whole new dimension as a result of it.

I've been contacted by several readers who were surprised to see NY Falafel Bar on Austin St. shut down shop quite unexpectedly a couple of days ago. I am just as surprised as anyone! I had just recently tweeted about how I had become addicted to their chicken schawarma sandwiches! I have no idea what happened. The place seemed popular, the owner was friendly, the food was delicious. I only hope that if they open up somewhere else they are successful.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Attention all Forest Hillers: The earthquake shifted Forest Hills a bit further to the east. Your commute into Manhattan will now take a few minutes longer. (:
... But your trip to The Hamptons will now be a few minutes shorter. :)

I thought this was a really interesting article from The Times yesterday, partly because it shows just how powerful the tornado was that hit Forest Hills last September. But perhaps even more interesting to me is the fact that damage from the tornado is still being brought to light through news articles like this one. I mean, almost a year has gone by and we first hear that this world-famous landmark was damaged by the tornado? Why am I not very surprised that this little fact is only first being publicized a year later? I was pretty amazed by the dreadful job the news media did in covering the tornado's destruction when it rolled over Forest HIlls and other areas nearby last year. None of the coverage I saw portrayed the full impact of the event. Heck, I remember friends who lived in Manhattan weren't even aware anything had happened here even weeks later! This irks me because I think it is reflective of the poor job the news media is doing. There is a big hole when it comes to local coverage that something like this gets scanty if any coverage. Probably due to the extreme budget cutbacks the local news media has been facing for years now.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Marriott is giving Manhattan hotels a run for their money. Marriott International and Granite Broadway Development signed an agreement last week that will create the tallest hotel, according to Marriott.

It seems like just yesterday they were filming some of this movie here in Forest Hills, near Ascan if I recall.... Well, here's the trailer. Just one viewing makes it pretty obvious that it will take its place among the most refined classics of our era. I'm thinking Merchant Ivory caliber (you know, A Room With A View, Howards End, The Remains of the Day, and so on...)

While the number of places offering quality food here in Forest Hills has certainly taken an upswing in recent months, I was realizing the other day that a place to get just a simple, really good sandwich still remains stubbornly elusive. And I'm not talking about Subway. I mean a quality sandwich, made with fresh, wholesome, upscale ingredients and designed by a creative person who really knows and is passionate about good food. If someone was to open such a place here in Forest Hills, I predict they would have a huge hit on their hands.
Also, I think what makes the new French bakery La Boulangerie so awesome, and such a welcome addition to Forest Hills, is that you can't find it anywhere else. It is not part of a big chain with locations all over the place. The owners are passionate about what they make and seem to care about every crumb. You can really taste the difference.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

I think this is a rather fitting commercial for the past couple of weeks....

The only thing I would change is I would lose the dog at the end and add "The Financial Meltdown!" Or maybe, "The Debt Ceiling!" Or maybe just "Michelle Bachmann!" Or heck, "Sarah Palin! Calgon, take me away!!!"

Monday, August 8, 2011

Wow, just found this.... look at the last graph ... says it's coming into Forest Hills too.

New York's First Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream Parlor Opens Two Stores on Long Island

Nitro Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt announces its two flagship stores now open. Nitro is the ‘Terminator in an Ice Cream Cup’ and attempts to provoke associations between cutting edge Science, Ice Cream and iPads. Nitro is the way to characterize a science lab for Ice Cream blended with a Hollywood production for a unique flavor experience. New York's First Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream Parlor!

Everything is poured into Nitro's patented-process machines that are connected to a stream of liquid nitrogen at -320F. About halfway through the process, the liquid nitrogen is dispersed resembling Han Solo-frozen blasting in carbonite. Fog is everywhere resembling a Heavy Metal concert. Nitro Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt Parlors are the first Ice Cream Stores to not have any freezers.

The Ice Cream production looks like some science project gone mad or an over- worked fog machine on the set of “Dancing With the Stars.” Nitro's Ice Cream process is safe, it allows the Ice Cream to contain a smoother, richer creamier texture by eliminating ice particles found in everyday desserts. Nitrogen is naturally found in the air we breath making up almost 80 % of our atmosphere.

Each Nitro location is now fully equipped with a Toppings Bar. Unlike other Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt Shops, Nitro's Toppings Bar is All You Can Eat. Nitro was founded by NBA Basketball Player Sebastian Telfair. Sebastian Telfair is one of the NBA brightest stars. Sebastian plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves and was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Sebastian developed the idea with fellow Ice Cream lover Sean Pomper. Sean Pomper, co-creator of “Flavor Spray” which was among Time Magazine’s Most Amazing Inventions of 2005.

Nitro Head of Franchise Development Neal Menashe, Esq. states, “In Todays economy we at Nitro developed an affordable way for people to license and franchise stores. We kept our start-up costs affordable and franchise fee’s at minimums, so in turn our store owners can evoke a profit as quickly as possible. An Ice Cream store doesn’t have to hurt your pocket in order for you to become a store owner anymore.”

Nitro Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt stores are coming and looking to open everywhere. Nitro Merrick at 2326 Merrick Road and Nitro Syosset at 15 Jackson Avenue are New Yorks first locations with developments in Staten Island, Oceanside, Forest Hills and Manhattan.

What can we all use on a day when the stock market is tanking? How about some more news about the brownies store opening soon on Austin? The owners sent me an email with lots of delectable details:

"We are making everything onsite daily. Some flavors of Brownies are S'more, Chessecake, Espresso, Caramel and much more. We will also have homemade ice cream and French Macarons. The ice creams will range from Raspberry White Chocolate Ribbon to Peppermint Chocolate Chip. For the French Macarons we will have Lemon Curd, Dulce de Leche and a few other yummy fillings. We will also serve coffee. The opening date should be August 25 (hopefully), or anytime 1 to 2 weeks after that."

And VERY, VERY DANGEROUS. Texas Rally Renews Debate Over the Boundaries of Perry’s Faith
We must always stand vigilant against the fascists. Fascism spreads like a contagion if left unchecked, especially during tough economic times. The Governor of Texas is the latest fascist to rear his ugly head. In his thirst for power he tries to destroy one of the central tenets on which our great country was built: The Absolute Separation Of Church And State and the embracing of the Age of Enlightenment, where science is respected and where faith, while important, should always be a personal matter and one not dictated by the State. Let's all do our part to ensure that we don't let the Perry's, or the Palin's, or the Bachmann's pull us backwards. Enlightenment always hangs by a thin thread and we can so easily start falling backwards. But we all must do our share to ensure that doesn't happen, especially in times of crisis like we now find ourselves in. The wonderful freedom which we live under today should never be taken for granted. We all must be ever vigilant to ensure it is not taken away! History, after all, has a habit of repeating itself.

A reader was kind enough to grab one of the cards from the store window and scan it, giving us a preview of the delectable-looking treats that await us when Brownies & Cream opens in a couple of weeks:

Monday, August 1, 2011

That's right, after our sad experience with Dunkin's evil Twin (Twin Donut, that is), Dunkin' is staging a comeback in Forest Hills. My top-notch roving reporter just snapped these pics tonight of signs in the former Twin Donut location on 71st/Continental. Dunkin' Donuts hasn't been in central Forest Hills ever since closing its former location on Austin St., near where The Body Shop is today, several years ago.